Supercalifragalisticexpiala-update

Just a potato rake of sugar.....something something

Sorry everyone.  Been super busy.  And when I'm not busy, I've been sleeping.

But since I've got an evening here without any deadlines for tomorrow, I've decided to fill you in on all of the happenings going on, and why I'm so busy all of the sudden.



Farm
The farm is doing great.  We got certified organic a couple of weeks back, just after the start of the pineapple season.  We've been selling at the Waimea Homestead Farmers Market, and it's been great.  Better than great.  Last Saturday we had so much ripe pineapple that K&K went to Waimea, and I went to Hilo where we sold last year.  I could not believe the difference.  But in fairness I'd rather not talk about that too much until the season is over.  Nonetheless, Saturday market makes for a very long day on Friday (8-11am picking and sorting; then shower, eat, and go work at the school 12:30-2:30ish; pick up buckets 2:30 to 4:30ish, then weigh and mark whole pineapples, skin,cut and package fresh cut pineapples, maybe make pineapple juice, etc 5:30-11ish.)  Of course Saturday we've got the market (up at 4:30, load car, leave around 5ish, get to Waimea at 6:30, set up by 7, sell out by noon, tear down and load the car/truck, then make Waimea deliveries until 1:30. then home by 3:00) and after that, I'm beat.  I usually take a nap that afternoon, have some dinner, and then sleep again until 2:30 Sunday morning, when I wake up, and then try to make myself sleep until 6 at least.  Sundays then we usually do more odds and ends around the farm, as Kalewa is not working at the library.  Sometimes though I just take the day off and read and nap and try to avoid everything possible.  Today, Gary (of Gary and Janice fame) invited us down to play some darts on his new dart board.  It was so much fun to throw some darts again that we're talking about making it a weekly thing.  Guess I'm going to order some new darts this week!  :)  Beyond all of that, I usually put in a strong farm work day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the occasional Mon and/or Wed morning thrown in for good measure.

School
Work at the school has started to feel a bit never ending.  It's good - I'm not complaining - but with the start of school, and my Wednesdays now gone to teaching a class, I've really had to put in a few extra hours each week working there that I didn't anticipate when I took the job.  Still, I work with a lot of good people, and the students seem great, so I think once I get everything ironed out everything will run more smoothly.  For now though, I feel like I'm scrambling a bit.  This week the students have to memorize an 'oli (Hawaiian chant) and to most of them (raised in Hawaiian homes or attending Hawaiian schools) this is nothing new.  But I feel like I've got to learn it well, so I can communicate it to my students, and show that I'm learning as they are learning.  It's a really interesting dynamic, but it's more work added to my to-do list.  When I get the 'oli down, I'll be sure to make a post of it.

Dogs
The pups are doing great, happy and healthy.  Lucy still hates Luana, and Dags found some way out of the yard a couple of days ago (I still don't know how, and it worries me), but beyond that, all is good.

Swipe
Since it is pineapple season, part of my responsibility (ha ha ha right) is to use up some of the very few pineapples we don't sell, and I do this by making swipe.  For those who don't know, swipe is a kind of cheap alcohol made by fermenting fruit or fruit juice.  It's nowhere as refined as wine, and not as complex as beer, but it has a certain niche, as you can make it with pineapple that's still in the field on the plant, and therefore get drunk at work as long as you're not caught "swiping" a pineapple.  I've looked online, and there's a surprising (or not so surprising) lack of information out there about recipes and methods.  I suppose one day when I've got time I'll transfer my swipe journal to the blog, so the world can profit from my experience.  You see, last year I just kinda threw together some batches, figuring that it was cheaper than beer, and the sum-total of my knowledge learned from that is that three quarts of the stuff on New Years Eve is a really bad idea.

While I really don't mind the stuff, I feel as though I've offended everyone else I've had try it, so this year I'm really working on coming up with a simple easy recipe that produces a nice (or at least not too bad) tasting swipe that's plenty strong, but not over-powering.  Ok, I'd even settle for over-powering, as long as it tasted good.  :)  So I'm approaching this year very scientifically.  I've got 15 gallons going now in three 5-gallon batches, and by this time next week I'll have taken initial taste tests and split each batch in half.  I suppose that's the point I'll have to really start blogging about it. (stay tuned)

Blogs
Speaking of blogging, I'd like to apologize to everyone who I've not commented to over the last couple of weeks.  I'm off to do that immediately following this.  Also, Tracy hasn't written anything new in a while. (ha!) And neither has Kilzer! (ha ha!)  But there is something new!  She didn't tell me about it (slacker) and even though perhaps she didn't want to become part of the Cameronomisphere, she is new.  Desiree has started a blog and it's worth checking out.  She offers a great perspective of a single mom in a modern world, and of course she's dead funny as well.  Please read Desiree's Time Out.

And The Rest...
That's it.  I'm tired.  I'm going to throw in a movie and drink a couple of beers and call it a night.  Speaking of movies, if you feel neglected them you should check out my Netflix activity of late: Until three days ago. I'd had the same three movies for almost three months.  I'm their favorite customer. They should send me free stuff.

Take care, everyone.  I'll write more soon.